Required reading (& viewing)

"I do like to think about the life of a wine, how it's a living thing.  I like to think about what was going on the year the grapes were growing, how the sun was shining that summer, or if it rained... what the weather was like.  I think about all those people who tended the grapes...  I love how a wine continues to evolve, how every time I open a bottle it's going to taste different than if I had opened it on any other day.  Because a bottle of wine is actually alive; it's contantly evolving...  And it tastes so @#$%ing good!"

~~ Virginia Madsen, playing Maya, in Sideways

A tale of two wines (or how I learned to stop worrying and love the drive to Lexington)

I was vegging on my couch, surfing the Internet on a recent Saturday morning (in my 'jammies, if you really must know), when beep, "You've got mail!", and an e-mail arrived from Berman's Wines & Spirits in Lexington MA.  "Oh COOL!", they are discounting the recently released Casa Lapostolle Clos Alpata 2005, a flagship meritage from Chile.  Hmmm...interesting...   Turns out, I had been debating whether to buy a few bottles of Clos Alpalta, or the competing 100% Cabernet Sauvignon flagship Concha Y Tora Don Meclchor 2005.  Both wines had just received 96 points and glowing reviews from Wine Spectator:

Casa Lapostolle, Clos Apalta 2005 -- "Gorgeous aromas of warm ganache and mocha lead to a rich, velvety palate loaded with currant, fig paste, black licorice, cassis bush and bramble notes.  The long, juicy finish has great grip and density, with echoes of graphite, dark fruit and mineral.  Should greatly reward cellaring. Carmenere, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot.  Best from 2009 through 2019.  5897 cases made." (96 points; Highly recommended.)

~~ James Molesworth, 15 June 2008, Wine Spectator

Concha Y Toro, Don Melchor 2005 -- "Still very tight, but the tannins that lead the way now are sleek and refined, and should easily meld into the huge core of roasted chestnut, black currant paste, warm fig and tar. Has a long, coffee- and loam-tinged finish. Best from 2009 through 2019. 18,000 cases made." (96 points; Highly recommended.)

~~ James Molesworth, 15 June 2008, Wine Spectator

As usual, when faced with tough vino-decision making, I waffled, waiting for someone else to make my choice a little easier (mostly likely when one of the wines wins "Wine of the Year" and doubles in price, forcing me to buy the loser -- remember the CDP's last year? -- not an impossible probability, considering both wines have been selected to Wine Spectator's Top 100 list 2 times each [Clos Apalta was #2 and #3 in 2004 (95 pts) and 2003 (94 pts), and Don Melchor was #4 in both 2006 (96 pts) and 2005 (95 pts)].

Actually, I was leaning towards the Don Melchor, since it was a little less expensive and I had previously enjoyed the spectacular 2003 (96 pts, Wine Spectator) with a monster porterhouse at the new Capital Grille in Burlington MA (remember that one Michael and John?).

Well, thanks to Joel B's e-mail, mind made up, off I went to pick up the discounted Clos Apalta ($5 off its list of $75 -- OK, not much of a discount, but every little bit helps).  Jump ahead to me pulling out a credit card to pay for my four bottles, each lovingly wrapped in semi-opaque tissue paper but minus the trademark oak box, and a little light went off in my head: "Kevin, you had better make sure they pulled the correct vintage."  Well, you guessed it:  behind the tissue paper was the 2004 vintage (93 pts, Wine Spectator), not the 2005 I was looking for!  "Hey guys, what are you trying to pull here?"

Well to make a long story short, Berman's had sent an e-mail to their entire customer list advertising the 2005 (which they also described as a shoe-in for the WS Top 100), but all they had actually received was the 2004!  Since I showed up barely 1 hour after the e-mail was sent, I was the first, of presumably many, irate customers making the drive all the way into Lexington just to save $5 (which, with my 16 mpg pony car, would barely pay my petrol bill for the trip!).

Anyway, Berman's eventually did get a small amount of the 2005 in, so if you'd like to grab a few, you had better head down there soon (Well, OK, with almost 6000 cases produced, you'll probably find it at Costco for less, but let's try to not spoil my story...)

My four bottles (plus oak box) are now in the cellar, destined to be consumed over the next decade...oh, and I did pick up four Don Melchor 2005 as well (the alternate solution to vino-indecision:  buy everything!).

Note added in proof, 8/31/08:  I did end up getting a couple more bottles of Clos Apalta '05 at the Waltham Costco for a bargain $54.99 (still available, along with a few bottles of the '04 mentioned above)!  Why do I buy wine anywhere else?  OK, stupid question (answer: because it's there).

Note added in proof: The Clos Apalta was #1 on Wine Spectator's "Top 100 Wines of 2008", while the Don Melchor was #12.  Good call Kevin!

A wine treasure hunt - Episode I

In these days of closed-before-they-are-open winery mailing lists, rocketing auction prices, and flipping the latest Robert Parker 99-pointer, wine collecting may seem more like a business than a sybaritic hobby.  But, sometimes, tracking down that special 

bottle of plonk reminds me more of a treasure hunt, or maybe even an Easter egg hunt!

One of my favorite local wine haunts is the Costco store located in Waltham Massachusetts.  I'll let you in on a little secret that surprisingly few wine snobs (maybe not surprising at that) and neophyte wine lovers alike don't know:  Costco is not just a great place to buy a six-month supply of toilet paper; it is also a terrific place to find a wide variety of interesting, even hard to obtain, wines at bargain prices that can't be matched by your traditional bricks-and-mortar wine shop.  So I usually try to stop by at least once a week to check out what new arrivals their wine buyer has selected (often differing between Costco locations).  Sometimes I will pick up of a nice bottle for the weekend, and sometime an unplanned 1/2 case of age-worth juice to stash away for enjoyment a few years down the road.

Since the spectacular '05 Bordeaux continue to arrive on this shore (apparently slightly delayed by a transportation strike in France!), I've had my eye out for a few select bottles to supplement my earlier en primeur purchases (1/2 cases of Chateau Haut-Bailly and Chateau Guiraud).  One wine that I wasn't able to pick up as a future (shipping wine into Massachusetts from most out-of-state retailers has certain legal implications, but please don't get me started about the antiquated Prohibition-era laws of our supposedly progressive state!) is the '05 Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc, a largely Sauvignon Blanc-based Bordeaux blend from Pessac-Leognan on the Left Bank.

So I was thrilled to see 4 bottles of SHL's distinctive pale-yellow label peaking out from the top shelf of the French/Cali Cult corner of Costco.

"According to Fabien Teitger, in-house enologist at Smith, the 38-year-0ld vines at the estate, which sink their roots several meters into the gravelly soil, were well able to cope with the drought during the summer of 2005.  Dannie and Florence Cathiard, owners of Smith since 1990, believe that they are now making the best red and white wines ever from the 165.5-acre estate (138.3 acres red; 27.2 acres white).  These wines are proof."

~~ James Suckling, "Bordeaux to Buy", 31 March 2008, Wine Spectator

And:

"Honey, apple tart, light toffee, cream and piecrust.  Very complex and full-bodied, with lively acidity and beautiful clove honey, red apple and lemon flavors. Long, balanced and very lively.  A massive white. Layered and beautiful. Made to age, but  who can wait to drink this?  Best after 2010.  3,000 cases made.  96 points."  [3ed highest score for a dry white Bordeaux after 97-point Domaine de Chevalier and 100-point Chateau Haut Brion.]

~~ James Suckling, 31 March 2008, Buying Guide, Wine Spectator

My prediction?  A possible Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of the Year for 2008!  I'm going to sock my 4 bottles away for 2011-2017.  Sorry guys, those were the last 4!

[Release, $83; Costco, $83.49; Zachy's, $100; Corporate Wines, the only other place I'm aware of that has it in MA, $101.83.]